This blog is looking for wisdom, to have and to share. it is also looking for other rare character traits like good humor, courage, and honor. It is not an easy road, because all of us fall short. But God is love, forgiveness and grace. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins have the promise of His Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the Way.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Once upon a time there was a brown cat named Sophia and a grey cat named Isabella. They were very best friends. Never fought. They were talking about how they were so excited to go to school. They were both going to be in second grade. They loved school and planned to have the most greatest time of their life. One girl told them they wouldn't be friends forever, but they believed that they would.

One day Sophia's mom decided that they could play for the whole entire day. They were next-door neighbors on a street named Springfield O' Cat Yard. For lunch they both had peanut butter sandwiches. Sophia spit hers out. Isabella thought that was gross. Peanut butter got stuck in Isabella's teeth, so she decided not to eat any more peanut butter.

When they finished eating, they went to Isabella's house. She said to Sophia, "Let's go into my room." Sophia said, "Okay. Whoa! Holy catshmacamole! You have the most cleanest room!" Then it was time for Sophia to go home, because tomorrow was going to be the first day of school.

We must keep front and center one of the main reasons Obama must be defeated in November: the likelihood that the next President will have an opportunity to appoint at least one Supreme Court Justice. Eugene Volokh writes here about why it would not be a good idea to draft Clarence Thomas to run for President against Obama: http://volokh.com/2012/02/27/clarence-thomas-for-president-revisited/

Sunday, February 26, 2012

I have been reading about the expectation for higher gas prices this year. Here is a partial explanation:

"High oil and gas prices now set the stage for even sharper increases at the pump because gas typically rises in March and April.

Every
spring, refiners suspend operations to switch the type of gasoline they
make. Supplies of wintertime gas are sold off before March, when
refineries need to start making a new formula of gasoline that's
required in the summer.

That can mean less supply for service
stations, resulting in higher gas prices. And summertime gasoline is
more expensive to make. The government mandates that it contain
less butane and other cheap organic compounds because they contribute to
the formation of ground-level ozone, a primary constituent in smog.
That means more oil, a costlier component, is needed to produce each
gallon."

President Obama’s use of drone strikes to target terrorists is depleting
U.S. intelligence on al Qaeda and making America less safe in the
process, according to Marc Thiessen, an American Enterprise Institute
fellow. “The Obama administration has completely eliminated live capture
of terrorists and bringing them in for interrogation,” Thiessen said.
“As a result, we are not getting insight into the inner workings of al
Qaeda.”

With the average price of a gallon of gasoline rising 40 cents just
last week, President Obama attacked Republicans yesterday, trying to
distract voters from his own failed energy policy. “The American people
aren’t stupid,” Obama said “You know there are no quick fixes to this
problem.” And Obama is right. There are no quick fixes to this problem.
But Obama has been in office for three years now. There is plenty
the federal government can do to lower gas prices in three years.
Problem is, everything Obama has done on energy has been designed to
increase Americans’ pain at the pump.

In January 2010, Obama issued new regulations making it more difficult to develop energy resources on federal land.

After the BP oil spill, Obama needlessly instituted, not one, but two outright drilling bans in the Gulf of Mexico.

After rescinding his outright offshore drilling ban, Obama then
refused to issue any new drilling permits in the Gulf, a policy that the
Energy Information Administration estimated would cut domestic offshore oil production by 13% that year.

Yes, oil and gas production is up in the United States. But
this is happening in spite of Obama, not because of him. It is being
driven entirely by increased production on state and private lands,
areas where Obama has little power to shut down production.
The reality is that Obama’s goal has always been higher gas prices. His Energy Secretary Steven Chu famously told The Wall Street Journal
in 2008, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of
gasoline to the levels in Europe.” And when Obama was asked by CNBC’s
John Harwood that same year if high gas prices actually “helped” the
United States, Obama said, “I think that I would have preferred a gradual adjustment.”
Americans aren’t stupid. They remember Obama’s words. They know that
the only real regret Obama has about high gas prices is that he may get
blamed for them at the ballot box.

Tonight Sara said, "Let's write another story for your blog. You get to choose whether it is a story about cats, horses, or dogs." I chose horses, and this is what Sara dictated to me over the phone.

Night lay heavenly in the forest. No wind. The grass at the end of the path lay by the water. No moon or stars. A herd of horses was lying down in the grass. There was a gate near where one of the horses stood up. All of the horses on the north side of the gate were either white or grey. All of the horses on the other side of the gate were either black or brown. There were no humans or wolves around.

One of the white horses spoke to one of the black horses. "You must keep away from our side." The black horse replied, "You must keep away from our side, because if our two herds get together, something dangerous will happen. Coyotes will attack us all! If we stay away from each other, new horses will be born to the survivors of the attacks"

The white horse continued, "We north horses are stronger because we have been taught to run, like in a war. Our homes got destroyed by hunters and cowboys riding black and brown horses. But, we still made it to our homes here on the north side of the gate. We will stay here, and you stay on the south side." The black horse said, "We have been taught to be nice, so we could all have peace."

The white horse said, "On April 23 you better get ready for a war, because we were taught how to fight by the Indian horses, who also taught us how to run. It's going to be fun when we see you lose!"

From The Burning Platform, which almost always provides helpful graphs to back up its arguments: "Only a deceitful government busybody do-gooder would actually argue that
forcing insurance companies to cover millions more Americans and cover
pre-existing conditions would result in lower costs for the average
family. I wonder what will happen in 2014 when 30 million more Americans
are guaranteed “free” healthcare under Obamacare. The saddest part of
this oncoming train wreck is that millions of willfully ignorant people
actually believed the blatant lies and false storyline fed to them by
sociopathic politicians who desire to control every aspect of their
lives. These people believe they know what is best for you. They believe
they are smarter than you. They do not care what means are required to
achieve their ends of absolute domination over your life. Personal
freedom, individual liberty and a critical thinking populace are the
antithesis to the desires of the governing elite."

17 seconds to go...One player hits a three; 8.7 seconds left, the other team hits a three; less than one second left, the other team hits a three from beyond half court! Why basketball is one of America's favorite sports!

Michelle Obama got home just in time from her Aspen vacation (her 18th vacation since her husband took office), to attend a White House concert by Mick Jagger and B.B. King. Here is the selection chosen by Mr. King, who now is 86-years-old. "Ya done me wrong!" "All I can do is wish you well."

U.S. Air Force Special Operations
Team performs High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) parachute jump -- at
about 10,000 feet -- over Florida.Found here: http://www.strategypage.com/military_videos/military_photos_2012022413521.aspx

If we in America think we have a problem with illegal immigration and the cult of multiculturalism, we need to take a look at Britain. Their illegals are not Hispanic Catholics; they are too often radicalized Muslims. Two-thirds of the babies born in London in 2010 had at least one foreign-born parent. Under the leadership of conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, "the government says it will reform
laws on immigration and settlement by increasing the requirements on
those who want to settle in Britain. Those coming to the United Kingdom
to work, study or marry will be required to demonstrate an ability to
speak English, and those wishing to remain permanently or seek British
citizenship will be required to demonstrate their knowledge of language
and life within the United Kingdom.
The new strategy also promotes the teaching of British history and
culture in schools and encourages the flying of flags in public places.
In addition, the government says it will work to restore the Christian
faith to the center of public life in Britain."

Another thing that George Carlin decries in his book When will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? is the trend toward zero tolerance. I meant to link to an article in the Denver Post from one week ago in which after intense exercise in their physical education class one girl shared her asthma inhaler with another girl, and both were kicked out of school. Interestingly, the one who had a father standing up for her was later re-admitted, while the other, whose parents were not mentioned in the story, was not.

Because school officials and law enforcement officers failed to recognize the danger presented by the Columbine killers, Colorado has become one of the nation's leaders in zero tolerance. As one of the commentors on the Post article writes, "it is unfortunate that zero tolerance has come to mean zero common sense."

Read more about the inhaler incident here: http://neighbors.denverpost.com/viewtopic.php?t=19997417

While I am writing about my favorite liberals, don't let me forget to include George Carlin. I recently picked up his When will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? at a book sale at the library. While I do not agree with his theological conclusions or his liberal politics, I salute him for his social commentary and satire. He was perhaps the best satirist of the last fifty years. He died in 2008. We need someone to come along and take his place.

In this time of magical Hope and Change, politicians and Madison Avenue are increasingly becoming skillful at manipulating us by euphemisms.Whether it is political correctness, job titles, psycho jargon, or just the words used to describe every day items, the examples are endless. Carlin is right, I'm afraid, when he says that "Americans prefer to avoid the truth; not look it in the eye." Euphemisms are softening our language and taking the life out of life.

Here are just a few of Carlin's examples, though there are literally hundreds and hundreds more. In world War I soldiers whose nervous systems reached a boiling point were said to be suffering from "shell shock." By the time we got World War II, the same phenomena was called "battle fatigue." By Korea it was called "operational exhaustion." By Vietnam, it was called "post-traumatic stress disorder."

Toilet paper became "bathroom tissue." Sweat pants became "active wear." False teeth became "dental appliances." Rugs became toupees became "hair replacement systems." Carlin advises us to beware of that word: "systems." Our cars' heaters and air conditioners became "climate control systems." Seat belts and air bags are now known as "impact management systems." As Carlin notes, "Ya can't beat the system!"

Trailer parks have become "manufactured homes communities." Mouth wash is now "dental rinse." Soap has now become "bath bars," "cleansing bars," or "clarifying bars." Hair spray is now "holding mist," or "sculpting gel." Douche is now "feminine wash."

And don't even get me started on political correctness, which Carlin notes has become "America's newest form of intolerance, yet it comes disguised as tolerance!"

Alan Dershowitz is one of my favorite liberals. In this post he takes on the headmaster of the Friends Seminary for allowing the "hard left" to promote anti-Semitism on campus. "Misled once, shame on you. Misled twice, shame on me." Read more here: http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2881/friends-seminary-anti-semitism

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Ezra Levant is wonderful! A four-year-old girl draws a picture in school of her daddy protecting her with a gun against bad guys. You won't believe what happens next. I believe it, because I have experienced something very similar here in America.
via http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/019400.html

Friday, February 24, 2012

NATO Commanding General John Allen and Obama administration Press
Secretary Jay Carney were more apologetic than a bacon salesman at a
rabbi convention after some Korans (copies of the Muslim holy book, much
like the bible to Jews and Christians) were burned along with other
books at a US military base in Afghanistan.

Afghans reacted by calling for those who burned the books to stand trial, and by chanting “Death to America!”

The Taliban called it an act of disrespect.

Tell you what guys: I say “Yes, I disrespect you, utterly and
completely.” Not because of your religion per se, but because your
priorities, such as putting the pages of a book of which there are many
millions of copies above the value of human life. Such as thinking that
an appropriate response to some singed pages is to call for the death of
a nation which spent billions of dollars and thousands of lives
liberating you from Islamofascism which you seem intent on suffering
under again, or at least too stupid and corrupt to avoid.

I disrespect you for your violent primitivism, for your proving
almost daily that your country is not worth one American life or one
American dollar.

And I disrespect our government for pandering to your anti-human fanaticism.

The right answer by NATO and our government should have been “Your
people desecrated your books by using them as a tool of war. We destroy
our enemies’ tools of war, whether books or bombs. As for the future
possibility of more Korans being burned, we promise you nothing except
that we won’t go out of our way to burn them just for the sake of
burning them. If you don’t like it, tough noogies. By the way, for every
American who dies as a result of protests against this recent accident,
we will turn 10 square miles of your country into glass. If it will
make you feel any better, take a few of these Gideon bibles which we
found in the drawers at the Holiday Inn and roast marshmallows over
them. I’m sure you’ll feel much better. But if you don’t, well, go tell
it to Mohammed. If you don’t know what he looks like, I’m sure we can
find you a picture from a Danish newspaper. Oh, you don’t like pictures
either???”
Found here: http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php/burning-books#comments

Thursday, February 23, 2012

David Harsanyi asks, "Aren't high gas prices what Democrats want?" And, if they were to damage Obama's reelection chances, it would certainly be ironic.

Then there is this: "According to the Institute for Energy Research, there is enough
natural gas in the U.S. to meet electricity demand for 575 years at
current fuel demand, enough to fuel homes heated by natural gas for
857 years and more gas in the U.S. than there is in Russia, Iran,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and some place called Turkmenistan combined.
Oil? The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the
United States could soon overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia to become
the world's top oil producer. There are tens of billions of easily
accessible barrels of offshore oil here at home—and much more oil
around the world."

Tonight my son Greg told me that his class in Santa Fe was asked by the teacher to write a letter to President Obama. The teacher warned the class that the letters must be "friendly." Greg said he knew she was referring to him and his friend Gabe. Greg says he is the "only Republican," and Gabe is the only Independent. Greg said if Obama actually takes the time to read all the letters he gets from school children whose liberal teachers make them write letters to the President, then that will be proof that he is a bad President, because he should be paying attention to being President, not sitting around reading letters from school children.

Jeff Goldstein writes at Protein Wisdom:

"Hard work, fair play, shared responsibility. That’s who we are as a people.”

"So
says President Obama, who then raises our taxes, deficit-spends us into
a devalued currency and a lowered credit rating, and subsidizes those
who in turn subsidize his political aspirations — through phony green
energy boondoggles, sops to public sector unions, and ever-growing
entitlement spending on the dependent class the Democrats rely on as
their voting base, and whom they therefore must always endeavor to keep
dependent.

But here’s the thing: dictating conformity and enforcing “shared
responsibility” — which is nothing more than man’s way to dignify
State-sponsored theft by slapping on a veneer of moral rectitude and
faux populism — is a direct assault on a free people, particularly in an
atmosphere where the government gets to define what is “fair” and how
much one is commanded, under a “progressive” scheme, to “share”.
Who I am as a person, Mr President, is me. And in this
country, I’m supposed to allowed to be me, provided I don’t run afoul of
the law. Yet more and more, what I eat, where I sleep, what I sleep
on, what my children eat, what I drive, how much I drive, how much
energy I use, how I see, how my house is painted, and on and on and on,
are determined in DC by bureaucrats and administrators — and I’m told
that a failure to follow their rules puts me at odds with the laws of
the State.

This is no way for free men and women to live.
And free men and women left unmolested by the State is who we as Americans should be “as a people”.
That we’re not any longer — having long ago become pawns to the
social engineers and technocrats playing Sim City on a grand scale — must
be part of that “fundamental transformation” we hear so much about.
The problem being, we’re still Americans. And sooner or later, the
idea that we must all be worker bees in the service of the fat Queen of
the State is going to prove unpalatable to many of us.
At which point, the pendulum is going to swing back."

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=37740

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor reminds us in her book My Stroke of Insight that our brains have two distinct hemispheres. One, the right hemisphere, is very mellow, a place where we can find deep inner peace. The other? Not so much! By living in the present moment, paying attention to our underlying physiology, we can connect with that inner peace. What techniques can we use to put distractions out of the way, and enjoy inner peace? I am going to work on that. I know that when I walk out the front door this morning, I will quickly be brought into the present moment, as we are experiencing snow, cold temperatures, and high winds! "Have a good one," as we often say to one another here in Colorado! Connecting positively with other humans is certainly a good way to start the process.

This 90-year-old man has some spunk. This is a photo of him leaving the courtroom after telling the judge that he pumped three bullets into the abdomen of a burglar in his house. Read more here: http://www.marinij.com/novato/ci_19991503
Via Pat Dollard: http://patdollard.com/2012/02/90-year-old-ww2-veteran-tells-burglar-%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-my-turn%E2%80%99-shoots-him-3-times/

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Victor Davis Hanson: "Saying one thing, while doing another, is no longer hypocrisy, but
rather logical, given that sinning is finessed by prior qualification.
Deploring racial profiling ensures that you do not have to visit Detroit
too often — and never feel guilt in avoiding it. Warren Buffett
circumventing inheritance taxes, or fighting the IRS, requires him duly
to whine about the soft tax treatment accorded billionaires like
himself. Barack Obama can shake down Wall Street donors, but only if he
has first branded them fat cats and corporate jet owners. Deriding
super-PACs is requisite to creating them. You can keep Guantanamo open
only if you damn those who opened it."

He writes about the new ten commandments here: http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/the-new-commandments-on-the-barn-wall/?singlepage=true

Dr. Bob at One Cosmos writes on February 21 a powerful piece about the sacredness of human life: http://onecosmos.blogspot.com/
Update: In the comments section, Bob adds, "Is there any doubt that had easy abortion been available in 1961, Obama
wouldn't be here? Compelling, no doubt, but still not reason enough to
support abortion."

Update 2: Mushroom disagrees: "Given his grandparents proclivities, I doubt the little bastard (in the
technical sense) Barry Dunham would have been aborted, and it would not
have made any difference to us. If it hadn't been him, somebody else
would have filled the niche.

It's the same reason "extinct"
species keep getting re-discovered. There are trials we are going to
have to face, one way or another until we address the root problem. If
you don't want roaches, don't feed 'em."

I found this close-up photo of one small pollen on a leaf, and thought it was fascinating. Read more here: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/stories/6-everyday-things-seen-really-close-up

One afternoon a rich lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the road-side eating grass.
Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and got out to investigate.
He asked one man, “Why are you eating grass?”
“We don’t have any money for food,” the poor man replied. “We have to eat grass.”
“Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I’ll feed you,” the lawyer said.
“But sir, I have a wife and two children with me. They are over there, under that tree.”
“Bring them along,” the lawyer replied.
Turning to the other poor man he stated, “You may come with us, also.”
The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said, “But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!”
“Bring them all as well,” the lawyer answered.
They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.
Once under way, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and
said, “Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you.”
The lawyer replied, “Glad to do it. You’ll really love my place. The grass is almost a foot high.”
(From a post on Cast Boolits by ‘robertbanks’)
(And i realize that ALL lawyers are not like this, but 99% give the rest a bad name.)
From http://mostlycajun.com/wordpress/?p=16972

Mike's America tells it like it is regarding the Obama administration dithering on the Keystone Pipeline. "Obama's own Administration took three years to determine
that there were few environmental risks from the pipeline yet it will
be stalled or killed so that Obama can retain the loyalty of
environmental zealots during the presidential campaign. Meanwhile, it's
not just higher gas prices, but fewer jobs, lower tax revenues and
increased dependence on overseas oil. None of that is as important to
Obama as pleasing environmental zealots!"Read more here: http://mikesamerica.blogspot.com/2012/02/former-obama-backer-now-thinks-obama.html

Over the years of his congressional career, Congressman Ron Paul has been double-billing taxpayers and libertarian groups for travel expenses. Roll Call has documented proof of 26 such flights, and there are another 31 flights Roll Call is trying to get more documentation on. Read more here: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_98/Associate-Confronted-Ron-Paul-About-Flights-212541-1.html?pos=htmbtxt
Update:

Udate 2: From Hot Air, discussing activities of another politician: " If you want to escape cynicism, don’t put your faith in these men (or
women). Sooner or later, they always succumb to temptation of one sort
or another (as do we all!). Mardi Gras is the perfect time to reflect on
what, exactly, the wages of self-indulgence actually are: Does the
tenth cookie ever taste as good as the first? It’s self-discipline that
leads to freedom — not only because the self-disciplined individual
doesn’t have to be disciplined by an outside influence but also because
it prevents him from becoming a slave to his own bad habits."

Mark Steyn notes that "Islam seems to be finding it a lot easier than Catholicism to get a "religious exemption:" Health Commissar Sebelius, pictured above "lays down the law to American Catholics," but what is happening in Canada and England? Read more here: http://www.steynonline.com/4829/the-catholic-state.

The web has a satirist who has had quite a month of February. He has delved deeply into the theology of our President, Barack Obama here: http://manhattaninfidel.com/2012/02/16/the-gospel-of-barack-obama-part-ii/ and here: http://manhattaninfidel.com/2012/02/14/the-gospel-according-to-barack-obama/. He has exposed the misdiagnosis of people thought to have Tourette Syndrome: http://manhattaninfidel.com/2012/02/13/asshole-misdiagnosed-with-tourette-syndrome/. He has also exposed Clint Eastwood's secret of still being alive: http://manhattaninfidel.com/2012/02/09/its-halftime-in-america/.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Out of the blue this morning Sara said, "Dad, I love you so much, I would take a bullet for you...but, wouldn't that hurt?" Then she started asking me about terrorists. Terrorists are very much on kids' minds these days. She said if she could talk with a terrorist, she would tell them not to try to make everybody believe like they do. Her exact words: "God is going to frown at you in front of your own face! Stop hurting people! It is not good to hurt people. It's mean!"

Saturday, February 18, 2012

"So first we’re forced to pay on the front end for the
overproduction of corn, thereby encouraging the use of high
fructose corn syrup, and now we’re supposed to pay again on the
back end, through soda taxes and the like, to prevent ourselves
from drinking too much of it. Brilliant." Read more here: http://reason.com/archives/2012/02/14/step-away-from-that-cookie-and-grab-some

"The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana,
potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of
Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the person
who was inspecting all lunch boxes in the More at Four classroom that
day." Read more here: http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8762

Do you get paid for the work you do? Do you think the federal government should have the right to force you to provide your service for free? Read more here: http://truthonthemarket.com/2012/02/10/the-magical-world-of-mandates/

"Planned Parenthood has a vested interest in hooking the next generation
on sex. They’re in the abortion business. They depend upon unwanted
pregnancies to stay in business. They know no unwanted pregnancy occurs without sex, so they encourage sex — albeit “safe” sex." Read more here: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/02/16/just-what-you-want-to-hear-planned-parenthood-works-around-the-clock-to-hook-your-kids-on-sex/

From Ricochet blog: "This suggests that there can be only one reason why Sebelius, Pelosi,
and Obama decided to proceed. They wanted to show the bishops and the
Catholic laity who is boss. They wanted to make those who think
contraception wrong and abortion a species of murder complicit in both.
They wanted to rub the noses of their opponents in it. They wanted to
marginalize them. Humiliation was, in fact, their only aim, and malice,
their motive." Read the whole thing here: http://ricochet.com/main-feed/More-Than-a-Touch-of-Malice

Friday, February 17, 2012

I am still reading Bruce Watson's epic book Freedom Summer, about the struggle for civil rights for blacks in Mississippi in 1963 and 1964. Terrorism is not something invented in 2001. It was alive and well in Mississippi well into the 1960s. My most consistent commenter on this blog, Terri Wagner, vows to enlighten me as to the merits of the other side of the story. So does a white Mississippian where I work. Until they do, I will assume Mr. Watson's account of the events there is valid. It is very well researched, and has been a riveting read. Yes, it is biased in favor of those who risked their lives to aid the cause of people seeking to obtain basic civil rights. What do you want him to do, tell the story from the point of view of the thugs who wore white sheets while beating and killing black Americans?

A great day today with the kids. Are you ready for this? I have a movie review for you! We donned our 3D glasses and went to see the movie Hugo. It is fabulous. Ben Kingsley should win best actor and Martin Scorsese best director, although, of course, I have not seen any of the competing movies! In fact, this is the first movie I have gone to a theater to see in at least four years! It is about an adorable kid named Hugo who lives in a train station in Paris. I won't ruin the story by telling you much more, but the movie just keeps getting better and better, with a great ending.

After the movie we hung around the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver, eating a great pizza at the California Pizza Kitchen, then going to a place called Dave and Busters, which has approximately one billion video arcade games, all of which were being played by enthusiastic gamers at the loudest possible volume. One observation that struck me. I saw four "SUPER BIKES," wide Harley-like bikes. In the entire two hours we were there, those bikes were occupied at all times, and ONLY by women!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

A Colorado
high school student says he quit the school choir after an Islamic song
containing the lyric "there is no truth except Allah" made it into the
repertoire.

James Harper, a senior at Grand Junction High School
in Grand Junction, put his objection to singing "Zikr," a song written
by Indian composer A.R. Rahman, in an email to Mesa County School
District 51 officials. When the school stood by choir director Marcia
Wieland's selection, Harper said, he quit.

"I
don’t want to come across as a bigot or a racist, but I really don’t
feel it is appropriate for students in a public high school to be
singing an Islamic worship song,” Harper told KREX-TV.

"This
is worshipping another God, and even worshipping another prophet ... I
think there would be a lot of outrage if we made a Muslim choir say
Jesus Christ is the only truth."

Jennifer Bonne writes in Jihad Watch about Haraam, which means forbidden in Arabic. It is one of the reasons Islam can never integrate with Western society. Read more here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/haraam---what-islam-hates-about-the-west.html

"They have increased the number of submarines ... they increased the
number of fast attack craft," Vice Admiral Mark Fox told reporters.
"Some of the small boats have been outfitted with a large warhead that
could be used as a suicide explosive device. The Iranians have a large
mine inventory."

"We have watched with interest their development of long range
rockets and short, medium and long range ballistic missiles and of
course ... the development of their nuclear programme," Fox, who heads
the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said at a briefing on the fleet's base in the Gulf state of Bahrain. Read more here: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=11546739#editor/target=post;postID=8388011838692331995

Update: The U.S. carrier group Abraham Lincoln sailed through the Gulf of Hormuz Tuesday: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/14/us-usa-iran-hormuz-idUSTRE81D1PE20120214

President Obama's budget proposes $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt and another $800 million in other types of aid to "Arab Spring" countries. Robert Spencer writes: "The U.S. is paying for the installation of Islamic supremacist pro-Sharia
regimes that will deny the freedom of speech and freedom of conscience,
institutionalize oppression of women and non-Muslims, and embark on a
jihadist course vehemently and violently hostile to Israel and the U.S." Read more here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/cutting-our-own-throat-obama-wants-800-million-for-arab-spring-countries-military-aid-to-egypt.html

"A UAE-based marriage counsellor faced a storm
of criticism last night after she said married Muslim women should enjoy
sex with their husbands. It sparked hundreds of online comments, some calling her a “Satan” while
others said she was insulting Muslims. The online attacks came after
she told the AFP news agency that her 11 years
as a marriage counsellor in the Dubai courts had taught her that lack
of sexual fulfillment was the main source of conflict in UAE marriages."

"Emirati love guru Widad Lootah is not your typical marriage counselor.
She is an ultra-conservative Muslim who wears the full veil and talks a
lot about sex, often quoting the Muslim holy book the Koran.
In 2009, she published the much-debated Muslim sex guide Top Secret: Sexual Guidance for Married Couples.

Her book, and her comments in interviews on the subject, initially
triggered a slew of insults, condemnation and even threats against her
life.
"They called me all sorts of things: crazy, vile, immoral, criminal," she said."Some even called me a traitor and spy for Israel and America." Read more here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/muslim-marriage-counselor-called-satan-for-saying-women-should-enjoy-sex.html

Robert Spencer makes the case that in regard to their policies toward countries where Islam is a powerful force, the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama are eerily similar, and innocent Americans are reaping the consequences: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/spencer-obama-jimmy-carters-second-term.html

Egyptian father converts to Islam, and arranges for a Muslim man to be married to the man's teen daughter. The daughter flees to her Christian mother, who lives in a different town. 20,000 Muslims storm a church, believing that the priest there helped the daughter escape. Read more here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/egypt-20000-muslims-attempt-to-torch-church-kill-pastor.html

"Why not tell the truth and call the blasphemy law inhumane, evil and
barbaric? Killing someone for expressing his views is not civil." Marisol writes at Jihad Watch about what is happening to a Saudi journalist who tweeted about what he thought of the prophet Mohammed: http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/02/anything-that-is-not-complimentary-of-islam-is-inflammatory.htmlUpdate: One of the issues important to this story is that Interpol, the international police organization, was used to catch the journalist in Malaysia and send him back to Saudi Arabia. Interpol is not supposed to be used on religious issues.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

This new poster was unveiled by Newt Gingrich at CPAC. I recognize Chuck Norris, J.C. Watts, Fred Thompson, Rick Perry, and Herman Cain, but I do not know who the two women are, and I do not know the other guy. Do you? Via http://nakeddc.com/2012/02/10/cpac-newt-gingrich-has-an-epic-moment-on-a-poster/

"Obama is going to set up Truth Teams.
I assume their purpose will be to hunt down and destroy any truths they
can find as those could be quite destructive to Obama’s reelection
chances. If people actually look at Obama’s performance and ability and
the results he’s obtained, he has little chance or reelection. Thus his
Truth Teams will eliminate truths when they find them and try and muddy
things up so people might actually considered reelecting the miserable
failure. Truth is another one of those things like freedom that gets in
the way of truly important things like free contraception." by Frank J. at IMAO http://www.imao.us/

Frank J. notes at IMAO that Obama's budget does provide subsidies for wealthy buyers of electric cars: "You know how liberals are always accusing Republicans of only caring for
the rich at the expense of the poor? Whatever liberals accuse others of
doing, that’s what they’re doing. Always." http://www.imao.us/

"Out of a budget of $3.8 trillion, Obama decided to remove $20 million
for the highly successful D.C. voucher program. Sorry poor kids; you
have to stick to failing schools run by uncaring unions. But hey, Obama
will make sure you get free contraception, and isn’t that all that poor
people really need?" from the inimitable Frank J. at IMAO: http://www.imao.us/

The blogger at Grim's Hall wonders where did the obligation arise to provide free birth control and abortifacients? "The argument seems to be that birth control ought to be free (and indeed
it is, in the form of abstinence, a form of birth control that
Catholics consider it a virtue to materially assist: but I digress)." Read more here: http://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/2012/02/where-could-such-obligation-arise.html
One of the commenters there had this to say: "Walt Kelly once had Porkypine observe "I notice that all those folks
favorin' birth control made sure that *they* got borned, first..."

The President sent to Congress a budget today. Here is what Charles Krauthammer had to say about it: I found this video here: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/02/krauthammer-on-obamas-budget-truly-scandalous-video/

The Gates of Vienna blog has a lengthy essay on the decline of our western civilization. The author is Takuan Seiyo. Actually, not all of the west. "The post-modern, post-Christian virus decimates only the Western West, but
not the Eastern West of Iron Curtain scars, or the Far East." Read more here: http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2012/02/bee-and-lamb-part-4.html

Tonight I have been reading a provocative blog entitled Stuff Black People Don't Like. It asks these questions: "How many Black women across America will fail to get a Valentine's Day
card, chocolate (though the vast majority don't need it), or flowers on
February 14? What's that percentage of fatherless Black children in
America? 70 percent? 75 percent? Eighty-five - 90 percent in some inner-cities like Detroit?" Read the whole thing here: http://stuffblackpeopledontlike.blogspot.com/2012/02/78-meet-cutes.html

The setting: Super Bowl XXV in Tampa, just days after the start of the first gulf war. Whitney sings the National Anthem like it had never been sung before, and it has never again since then. Losing that voice to drug abuse is a national tragedy.Update: http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=703514

The video below has received over twenty million hits on You Tube in less than one week. Some conservative blogs are applauding this father for not letting his teen run over him. One blog even nominated him for Father of the Year. I am taking a different tack. I am nominating both him and his daughter for the Bob's Blog "Poor Me" award.

C'mon people, lighten up! You don't have to spend your entire lives exclusively in the left hemisphere of your brain! Hit the pause button, step to the right, and find some inner peace in the right hemisphere of your brain! Let go of the anger, fear, anxiety, and addictions.

Open your mind and heart to the One who created you. He did not put you here to be miserable and make other people miserable. He put you here to love, and to be loved.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

So true, isn't it? Here is an illustrative story I lifted from the blog Finest kind clinic and fish market. I don't know if it is actually true, but it is a good story.

Anyway, when I came across this story…it made me reminisce and laugh because I was in a slightly similar situation MANY years ago.…don’t judge a book by its cover…
A
lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a Homespun
threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston , and walked timidly
without an appointment into the Harvard University President’s outer
office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods,
country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn’t even
deserve to be in Cambridge
‘We’d like to see the president,’ the
man said softly. ‘He’ll be busy all day,’ the secretary snapped. ‘We’ll
wait,’ the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them,
hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away.
They didn’t, and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to
disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.
‘Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave,’ she said to him!
He
sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously
didn’t have the time to spend with them, and he detested gingham
dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.
The
president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, ‘We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He
loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was
accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to
him, somewhere on campus.’
The president wasn’t touched. He was
shocked. ‘Madam,’ he said, gruffly, ‘we can’t put up a statue for every
person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look
like a cemetery.’
‘Oh, no,’ the lady explained quickly. ‘We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.’
The
president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and
homespun suit, then exclaimed, ‘A building! Do you have any earthly idea
how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million
dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.’
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, ‘Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?’
Her
husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away,
traveling to Palo Alto , California where they established the
university that bears their name, Stanford University , a memorial to a
son that Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.

I listened via radio this morning to Fox News Sunday Morning with Chris Wallace. Chris had on Obama's new Chief of Staff. The interview was comically absurd. This is what I heard:
Chris: "The President's compromise on the Obamacare mandate to provide free birth control to women is to force private insurance to provide these products free. How does the government force a private business to provide free services?"
Answer: "Actually, Chris, it doesn't add to their cost of doing business."

Chris: "Here is a video of President Obama saying he would reduce the deficit by half. Let's listen. He is presenting his new budget this week, and after three years of his presidency, there is still no reduction of the deficit.
Answer: "Actually, Chris, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Saturday, February 11, 2012

I am still amazed at the overwhelming support given to Rick Santorum across Colorado Tuesday night. Colorado is a state that covers a large amount of real estate! With not a lot of money or staff, and only spending a few days in the state, Santorum won in 44 of the 63 counties!

I didn't think he was that well-known! Actually, he is not nearly as well-known as Mitt Romney, who won here in 2008, or as Newt Gingrich, who it seems has been on t.v. every week for the last twenty years! Romney won 18 counties and Gingrich won one.

Ron Paul won no counties, but he does have a passionate group of supporters here. If he were to run this fall as a third party candidate, he would probably put Colorado's electoral votes in the Obama column. Colorado is one of those rare places where the voters are about one-third Republican, one-third Democrat, and one-third independent. Unless independents go for the Republican candidate in large numbers, as they did for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, Paul is likely to subtract more voters from the Republican side of the ledger if he runs as a third party candidate, because of his conservative fiscal platform.

The turnout for Santorum indicates that the conservative base is much more well-informed than anyone gives them credit for, and they must be communicating with each other more than anyone realizes. However, Obama's announcement just days before the Colorado caucuses that under Obamacare Catholics and other religious organizations would be required to pay for birth control pills, some of which are abortifacients, surely must have been a significant factor in the Santorum victories in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cold Fury links to Michael Yon, who has this to say about the Afghanistan war:
"This war is going to turn out badly. We are wasting lives and
resources while the United States decays and other threats emerge. We
led the horse to water.
Importantly, there is no value in pretending that Pakistan is an
ally. We should wish the best of luck to the Afghans, and the many
peaceful Pakistanis, and accelerate our withdrawal of our main battle
force. The US never has been serious about Afghanistan. Under General
Petraeus we were starting to gain ground, but the current trajectory
will land us in the mud.
The enemies will never beat us in Afghanistan. Force on force, the
Taliban are weak by comparison. Yet this is their home. There is only
so much we can do at this extreme cost for the many good Afghan people.
We must reduce our main effort and concentrate on other matters. Time
to come home."
Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate who is saying this, and I think it is a significant reason why he has such a solid base of support. http://www.michaelyon-online.com/time-to-leave-afghanistan.htm

Every night I have long conversations with my three youngest children. Tonight Sara told me that the highlight of her day today was that she was given a ribbon for "parpissipating" in the science fair. She couldn't understand why I found that to be so funny.

Brilliant political satirist Frank J. Fleming writes in the New York Post about how sad it must be for Democrats to be stuck with Obama for the 2012 election. "Democratic voters must be looking to the Republican field with envy.
Having a few potentially bad choices certainly beats having just a
single horrible one."

"While the American people are worried about jobs, Obama seems aloof to
those concerns and just keeps talking about such left-wing boilerplate
as taxing the rich and green energy."

Have you heard? Roseanne Barr has officially declared her candidacy for President of the United States on the Green Party platform. Well, at least we would have a president who could sing the national anthem...er, ah..maybe not.

Cold Fury links to an article in Town Hall by Thomas Sowell. Sowell writes the following, which I quote, "there is no excuse for not being aware of what a major social disaster
the minimum wage law has been for the young, the poor and especially for
young and poor blacks."

"We have gotten so used to seeing unemployment rates of 30 or 40 percent
for black teenage males that it might come as a shock to many people to
learn that the unemployment rate for sixteen- and seventeen-year-old
black males was just under 10 percent back in 1948. Moreover, it was
slightly lower than the unemployment rate for white males of the same
age."

"This was not the first or the last time that liberals did something
that made them feel good about themselves, while leaving havoc in their
wake, especially among the poor whom they were supposedly helping.
For
those for whom "racism" is the explanation of all racial differences,
let me assure them, from personal experience, that there was not less
racism in the 1940s."

"For those who want to check out the statistics -- and I hope that would
include Mitt Romney -- they can be found detailed on pages 42 to 45 of
"Race and Economics" by Walter Williams."

Cold Fury links to a story in the LA Times about how the Mohave Desert is being "sacrificed" so that a politically favored industry can put up thousands of solar panels. "BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah solar power project will soon be a humming
city with 24-hour lighting, a wastewater processing facility and a
gas-fired power plant. To make room, BrightSource has mowed down a swath
of desert plants, displaced dozens of animal species and relocated
scores of imperiled desert tortoises, a move that some experts say could
kill up to a third of them."
The photos help tell the story: http://framework.latimes.com/2012/02/04/solar-desert/#/10

Cold Fury links to Hot Air, where Jazz Shaw writes about quick deals being made in China by its President Ho and Canada's Prime Minister Harper to ship Canada's oil and uranium to China: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/02/09/fantastic-china-canada-reach-quick-deals-on-oil-uranium/

Yes, left-leaning Catholics, he probably did promise to exempt you. He makes a lot of promises, but his track record for keeping promises is not very good.Read more here: http://nicedoggie.net/?p=3891Update: Are you familiar with the word taqiyya? How about dissimulation? These words refer to the Islamic practice whereby an adherent is permitted to conceal their religion when under threat. Michael Walsh writes at The Corner that Obama is an "Alinskyite practitioner of American taqiyya, for whom subterfuge,
dissimulation, misdirection, and bald-faced lying are a way of life." Read more here: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290673/what-would-dagger-john-do-part-two-michael-walshUpdate 2: The blogger at Cold Fury adds: "Living under a tyrannical totalitarian state presents people who love
liberty with some tough choices, with no good outcome guaranteed. But
the choice of knuckling under, working to undermine the system from
within, or outright defiance is one we’ll all be forced to confront
sooner or later, in one way or another. That’s the price of decades of
complacency and denial, and it is pretty danged steep." Read more here: http://coldfury.com/2012/02/10/good-and-hard-3/Update 3: Andrew McCarthy writes at The Corner that Obama "is not being pulled to extremes by his base — he is the one doing the pulling." Read more at http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/290707/when-obama-voted-infanticide-andrew-c-mccarthyUpdate 4: Ross Kaminsky writes about the broader subject of waivers here: http://spectator.org/blog/2012/02/09/no-waiver-for-thee

Leoontyne Price performs God Bless America at a gala after 9-11, when she was 74-years-old. She was born on this date in 1927, a fact which I learned by visiting this blog: http://coldfury.com/2012/02/10/happy-birthday-5/

Is our political system a "noxious sausage-making machine" which grinds up principles? This blogger thinks so: http://classicalvalues.com/2012/02/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-whos-the-most-anti-sausage-of-them-all/

Bill Whittle talks about "unearned moral and intellectual superiority, championing things that don't work and look good...rather than things that do work and look bad, and shooting spitballs of hypocrisy and malevolence." I found this video here: http://chicksontheright.com/2012/02/08/coin-of-the-realm-bill-whittle/

A Harvard professor has released a study showing that students who were allowed to choose their middle school or high school committed significantly less crimes as young adults than did students who were not allowed to choose their schools. Cato's Andrew J. Coulson links to the study and adds that this is just one more of a long list of benefits of market freedoms and incentives.
Photo and story found here: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/school-choice-lowers-crime/

Have you ever heard of the word "abortifacient?" I saw it at Ace of Spades, so I looked it up: "An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion." Oh, yes, now I know what that means. It means that Obama has lost Catholics and evangelicals, and Rick Santorum is charging to the front of the GOP candidates. Speaker Boehner is even getting in on the action. In a rare appearance on the floor of the House of Representatives, he has called for Congress to halt the attack on religious freedom by the Department of Health and Human Services. As Ace writes, "This is about imposing a Preferred, State-Endorsed Culture on people from the top down." Read more here: http://ace.mu.nu./Update: Laura W. posts at Ace about the fact that leftist Catholics were among the biggest supporters of Obamacare's socialization of health care in America.

My favorite writer on things spiritual is Ann Voskamp of the blog Holy Experience. She writes today about when winds blow and love tries to hold on. You won't be sorry if you go read her at http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/when-wind-blows/

She is writing about her parents' divorce, but the words have additional meaning to me. I lost the person who I thought was my soulmate. I still love her and appreciate her, perhaps more than ever. She now lives in one of America's most beautiful places, where she has much more land and animals and a thriving farm, ranch, and dairy business to help run. We actually communicate very well with each other these days - probably better than we ever have.

Ann writes about how "despite all your prayers, things still slip through your fingers, water and wind and dreams." Then she asks, "And did God answer all our prayers? No one enters into the real joy of the Lord in spite of the hard times —- but squarely through the door of the hard times." "God’s purposes are not for me to understand His plans: His plan is for me to understand Who He is."

Rick Santorum had a great night last night, winning here in Colorado, but also in Minnesota and Missouri. Why? Well, although I have not seen any analyses yet, he certainly got the votes of conservatives. He got evangelicals, and, I presume, he got Catholics. Obama's Health and Human Services Secretary announced new rules under Obamacare last week, which would require Catholics to provide birth control, including pills that cause abortions, and that may have been the biggest factor for Santorum's victory, because he is a devout Christian (Catholic), conservative, and has the support of Tea Party Republicans.By the way, Santorum mentions this decision in his Missouri victory speech, which is posted below.

I went over to the website of the Colorado Republican Party, and if I counted correctly, Santorum won 44 counties, Romney 18, and Gingrich 1. All of those 44 Santorum counties are rural, except he also won in El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, Mesa County, which includes Grand Junction, La Plata County, which includes Durango, and Larimer, which includes Fort Collins. He won the southern half of the state, and all but one of the eastern counties, the only county won by Gingrich. Romney won in the liberal, affluent ski areas, Denver, Boulder, and the far northwest counties closest to Utah.

Two of Colorado's most popular conservatives, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, and former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, announced their support for Santorum last week. They proved to be more in touch with the grassroots Republican voters than did former Governor Bill Owens, who stuck with his friend, Mitt Romney.

Here is the CSPAN video of Santorum's Missouri speech, given before the results from Colorado were counted. I saw the video first on a local news station's internet posting, and it showed more of his wife than this one does. I couldn't get that one to embed. Too bad, because I think he has a cute wife, and I'd much rather look at her than at him. I know, I'm a sexist pig. Actually, she reminds me a lot of my own daughter, Marisa, who lives in Texas, and is a beautiful woman, if I do say so myself!

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Bob's Blog has received the Liebster Award. "Liebster” is a German word that means “Dearest”, it also means ”Favorite.” We were nominated by the blog Flares into Darkness, which informs us that the origin of the award is shrouded in mystery. "Some say it is a
more closely guarded secret than Obama's college transcript." I am of
course honored to receive it.

It is an award that small blogs pass on to each other. The simple rules for the Liebster are as follows:

Copy and paste the award on your blog.

Link back to the blogger who gave us the award (http://yargb.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-dont-deserve-this-award-but-i-have.html)

Pick out five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers, and leave
a comment on their blog to let them know they have received the
award.

Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs. Here, in alphabetical order, are the five blogs I have chosen to receive a Liebster:

1. Andy's Place (http://andysredneckramblings.blogspot.com/) Andy has a great sense of humor and a great family. 2. House of Zathras (http://www.houseofzathras.com/) Mrs. Who, like Andy, usually makes me laugh, and lives her life with passion, which, thankfully, she shares with us on her blog.3. Innominatus (http://innominatus87.blogspot.com) If you are in the mood for some really good satire, Innominatus is the place to go, and he has plenty of raw material for his blog right there in Portland.4. The Poor Farm (http://crazedpw.blogspot.com/) Jeffro drives a truck from his home base at the Poor Farm in Kansas. His sense of humor and insightful writing is right up there with the other three award winners listed above.5. Webutante (http://webutante07.blogspot.com/) is an accomplished writer, hiker, and flyfisherwoman, and writes about things true and good, with an occasional rant of disapproval thrown in for good measure.

About Me

"Even in brutality and sorrow, beauty often shines brightest in the soul brave enough to deny evil a foothold. It is the theme of redemption, the symphony of resurrection."
The above is from a blogger named Jewel.